Italian people like to sit at the dining table and share good food with their families and friends. That is all that make them happy. Yes, there are happiness and laughter when sharing your good food with your families and friends. You can get the same kind of feeling when you come to the Bella Pasta Promotion at Sailendra Restaurant of JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta. The beautiful pasta will be ready to be served from 20 to 29 May 2016.

Pasta becomes the main theme of this promotion because Italian cuisine is well known for its wide variety of pasta. There are many different shapes of pasta, such as penne, macaroni, spaghetti, linguine, fusilli, lasagna and many more varieties that are filled with other ingredients like ravioli and tortellini. The Bella Pasta Promotion is also emphasizing the fact that Italian cuisine is simple, where most of the dishes having only four to eight ingredients, and has great quality in the ingredients.

But before you taste them, let me be your guide to the beautiful world of pasta!

Caprese Salad is the most delicious salads I have ever tasted. This simple traditional Italian salad is made with Vine-ripened Tomatoes that are red, juicy and flavorful but not overly soft. Add them with fragrant and flavorful Green Basil, and fresh and moist Mozzarella. Finally, there is a mix of Balsamic, Pesto and genuine Olive Oil. Very healthy and delicious!

This makes an excellent and fresh lunch at the dry season, or a great starter if you take it in small portion.

Tuna Carpaccio

Rocket Leaves, Lemon Vinaigrette

Carpaccio is almost like Sashimi, but it is marinated one. The marinated raw Tuna is thinly sliced. The easy starter can wake up your tongue like a coffee for your eyes!

A sprinkle of Lemon gives something fresh for this yummy appetizer, while some dots of Avocado Puree and Pine Nuts makes the taste round and full.

Rocket Leaves or popularly known as Arugula or Salad Rocket is nutritious green-leafy vegetable that gives a bitter sweet peppery flavor to the dishes.

Panzanella is simply a Tomato-Bread Salad. This is a rustic-Italian Salad made with day old and crusty Bread, fresh Tomatoes, and Mozzarella Cheese.

As it tastes so fresh, it is perfect enough to be consumed as a light supper or lunch.

In Italy, Panzanella is also the perfect place to use those soft Tomatoes that are still rich in flavor.

Pappa Pomodoro Soup

Parmesan shavings, Basil

Pappa Pomodoro Soup is a rustic Tomato and Bread dish that tastes like a combination of Soup and Porridge.
With Parmesan and Basil, the soup becomes very tasty. A very perfect combination of taste between sour taste from the Tomato, salty taste from the Parmesan, and fresh feeling from the Basil. The Bread comes in between to balance the taste and to thicken the texture of the Tomato Soup.

Personally, I really love the Soup! This is my favorite dish! I think the Soup is perfect enough to be consumed when the rainy days come to warm the cold soul. So hearty, so romantic! Love! Love! Love!

Wild Mushroom Red Cappelletti

Brown Butter and Chives & Pomodoro Basilico

The Cappelletti reminds me of the Dumplings in the Chinese food or the "Pangsit" in Indonesian Noodle dishes, but Cappelletti is a bit thicker and healthier. How come healthier? Because it is filled with Wild Mushroom. Wild Mushroom? Don't worry, because this Wild Mushroom is the edible ones.

With all the Brown Butter, Chives and Pomodoro Basilico that are mixed with the Cappelletti, the dish becomes so fruitful.

This dish is good for those who can not eat meat, are vegetarian and food combining practitioner.

Seafood and Squid Ink Ravioli

Saffron and Seafood Veloute

I always love Seafood and Squid Ink! And I can find both of them at this food. Huuurrraaahhh!!! This is heaven for Seafood lovers!

The Veloute has multi purpose in the culinary arts, as it can be used as soup or sauce. The Seafood Veloute or the traditional thick Seafood Soup, taken from a French term, becomes a delicious sauce to the Squid Ink Ravioli. Very delicious!

When you have a black day, this Black Pasta will make your day :-D

Baked Mediterranean Style Red Snapper

Tomato, Olive, Capers, Herbs and Lemon

I always love Fish, and this is another delicious dish.
The Red Snapper (Reddish Marine Fish) is cooked with Tomato, Olive, Lemon and other ingredients that give deliciously sour and juicy tastes. All the ingredients are truly going through every slice of the Red Snapper. So no matter where you bite, you can always find all parts of the ingredients in the fish. It shows that they way of cooking this dish is perfect. Bravo!

Beef Involtini

Parmesan Cheese, Bread Crumbs, Thyme, and Parsley in Tomato Sauce

Involtini is an Italian word for a small bite of food consisting of some sort of outer layer wrapped around a filling. Involtini can be made with a wrapper of Meat, Poultry, Seafood or Vegetables, with fillings like Cheese, Vegetables, cured Meats and Nuts.
In Indonesia, we have almost the same kind version of this food, and it is called "Daging Gulung" or "Rolade" which taken from the word in English "Roulade".

When I eat the Beef Involtini, it all reminds me of all the "Daging Gulung" that my Mother cooks. Yes! I can find home from this dish!
The difference is the Sauce and the Parmesan Cheese. My Mother cooks "Daging Gulung" with Brown Sauce and without Parmesan Cheese, while Beef Involtini has Tomato Sauce and Parmesan Cheese. The "Daging Gulung" tastes sweet, while Beef Involtini tastes sour and salty.
Which one is the winner? Both of them! And I call Beef Involtini as a "Home Sweet Home" dish :-)

Seafood Risotto

As Indonesian, Rice is our daily food. But what I love the most about the Risotto is that it is always cooked in such way that it tastes more creamy and chewable.
The Seafood Risotto becomes delicious because the Cream Sauce, the Parmesan Cheese and the Shrimp truly completes each others that produces sour and savory taste.
This dish can be eaten alone as main dish or together as side dish with the other main dishes.

Dessert

Tiramisu, Panna Cotta, Semifreddo Macadamia Coffee

Tiramisu
Tiramisu is a Pudding-like dessert that is made from Sponge Cake or Ladyfingers dipped in a Liqueur, Coffee and Sugar, then layered with grated Chocolate and rich Custard.
The portion of the Tiramisu here is enough for me to cheer up my throat after all the Italian dishes I eat.
Surprisingly, the dessert is also taken as "a wake up" Dessert for the Coffee ingredient in it. Very fancy Coffee :-D

Panna Cotta
The Italian 'cooked Cream' Dessert is made from sweetened Cream thickened with Gelatin and Molded. This Panna Cotta is mixed and aromatized with Mango that gives a sweet, sour and fruity taste. Yummy!

Semifreddo Macadamia Coffee
It is semi-frozen Dessert from Eggs, Sugar and Cream that feels like frozen Mousse. Because of its ingredients and texture, the dessert is often called as an Ice-Cream Cake.
The Nutty taste of Macadamia and the Bitter taste of Coffee comes in between to balance the sweetness and the creaminess of the Dessert. So don't worry, the Dessert doesn't taste too sweet. It is very good for a not-sweet-tooth-kind-of-person like me.
As a Coffee lover, this Dessert has fulfilled all my desires :-)

The Chef

So, who is the bad guy behind all the Italian chaos in my belly?

Let me introduce you to the Executive "Master" Chef Francisco Holmes Brown from the JW Marriott Jakarta Hotel.
The former banker who likes all kind of cheese and Indonesian food have mastered all type of cuisines, such as Asian, Middle East, Latin, and Italian. Looking at the blood that runs inside his body - a mix of English blood from his Father and Italian blood from his Mother, and his childhood experiences in Buenos Aires, Argentina, you can expect that his cooking style will be influenced by those many factors.

Together with his creative culinary team, Chef Francisco has prepared such delicious Italian dishes that he took from his family's secret recipes.

Thank you, Chef Francisco and the team, who have served such delicious authentic Italian food that I love. All the dishes have slapped my mouth, my belly and my heart so deliciously that I might die in happiness :-D

One of the activities the hotel can arrange for its guests is to visit the Balinese dance near the hotel. When I stay in SenS Ubud Hotel, the hotel arranges a visit to the Balinese dance in Balerung Mandera Srinertya Waditra. The Balerung is located in the midst of local villagers’ houses and the paddy fields of Banjar Teges Kawan Yangloni.

The meaning of Balerung Mandera Srinertya Waditra is a large building / hall created by Mandera for performing dance and gamelan music. It is designed in typical Balinese style.

Anak Agung Gede Mandera is a famous musician and choreographer and one of the founders of the Gong Kebyar style of music and dance in Peliatan.

The Balerung is established by A. A. Gede Oka Dalem, an architect, dancer, and choreographer and one of Agung Mandera’s sons, in 2000 as a place for Balinese artists to practice and perform music and dance, particularly the musicians and dancers from the village of Peliatan, with the aim of preserving the classical music and dance of the Peliatan area and further developing Balinese dance.

Besides performing for local and foreign tourists, the Balinese dance in the Balerung is also performed for religious ceremonies, social and commercial functions.

During the Balinese Dance, there is a welcome greeting by the traditional orchestra music from traditional music instruments called Gamelan and Gong. I can enjoy the beauty of Balinese Dancers and the uniqueness of the dance itself too. The dance, the story and the performers create a great drama. Well, I don't understand the Balinese language the performers use in the drama, but it is enough for me to enjoy the beauty of this Balinese performing arts. From here, I understand that arts speak through its universal language. I don't have to understand, I just feel it and enjoy it.

The Barong

The Drama

The Dancers

The Gamelan Man

The whole Balinese Dance is awesome! They amaze my eyes and my heart. The music is very nice to my ears, and all the performers are the sweet fruits to my eyes. By watching the dance, I know that Indonesia has a lot more culture to discover. I am proud to be Indonesian.

If you want to go to the Balerung, it is only a 20 minutes walk from the center of Ubud to Balerung via the main road (Jalan Raya Peliatan).

If you drive a car, get off at Peliatan, near Puri Agung or the Peliatan Market (Pasar Peliatan). Then, walk towards a large banyan tree (pohon beringin) on the eastern side of the intersection, and continue walking eastward for a few minutes following the directions given on the map.

Thank you, SenS Hotel and Spa + Conference, for the tour to this Balinese Dance.

Don't forget to ask the staffs from SenS Ubud Hotel if you want to experience my beautiful journey here.

Ubud in Bali is always like home for me. In Ubud, I got my Yoga and CranioSacral Certificate, I met local best friends and got special things that captured my heart. One latest invitation to visit a new hotel in the area has brought a different feeling in my personal journey. The activities during the visit open my eyes that Ubud has so many things to explore.

(Note: I will write more about the journey around Ubud at the next blogs.)

The new hotel, SenS Hotel and Spa + Conference (read it as "Song" as it is a French language), is located in Peliatan and is just a few minutes from Ubud Market and Ubud Palace. It is created for those who are traveling for business and / or leisure.

You can use the boutique SenS Ubud Hotel as a place to stay when you are busy with your activities in Ubud, like walking on rice fields, practicing yoga, rafting, hiking, and watching traditional Balinese dance. It is not that far from Ubud Royal Palace, Sacred Monkey Forest, museums, art galleries, shopping, dining, and cafes. The best places you can reach from SenS Ubud Hotel are some sacred temples, Ayung River, Batur Mountain, Ubud Market, Elephant Safari, etc.

SenS has two meanings. SenS is the name of a commune in the Burgundy region in north-central France, 120 km from Paris. It is crossed by the Rivers Yonne and Vanne. SenS is steeped in history. It has, over time, been an important Roman settlement; the capital of the Senones, a powerful Gallic tribe; and an important religious center and ecclesiastical hub. SenS, in the French language, also means sense, way, feeling, direction, consciousness, opinion and meaning.

SenS Ubud Hotel works together with Ubud community to provide transportation services, local pesticide-free and chemical fertilizer-free products, a property for performances during major ceremonies, and recycle products.

ROOM

SenS Ubud Hotel has 91 rooms and 6 junior suites, and each room has enough universal power plugs for you to charge your phone, laptops, and other electronic gears. No more dead battery!

The wifi connection inside the room and the area around is very strong. Very nice for those who visit for business.

The Superior Room are non-smoking and have either a king or two twin beds. The Superior Plus Room comes with a French-style divan daybed that can accommodate another person for a total of 3 persons per room. The Premium Room has a luxurious free-standing tub and a private balcony overlooking courtyard and pool.

FOOD

A La Carte

Dessert

Buffet

The Chef

The cuisine in SenS Ubud Hotel are made in many tastes of Indonesian, Chinese, Japanese and Western. They can be ordered and consumed at the pool, in the room or at the restaurant - Yonne Cafe and Bar. Although you can find many tastes in the restaurant, actually the best dishes you can try is the Balinese and Asian ones.

SPA AND GYM

SenS Spa that opens until midnight is good for those who need a little bit of press and release after a hard day. Do you need body massage or foot reflexology? No problem!

Or wait! Do you need to grow the muscles and loose some weights? Maybe the gym at SenS Ubud Hotel is your best destination.

CONFERENCE

SenS Ubud Hotel is the first venue in Ubud that has Peliatan Ballroom with capacity for up to 300 guests. It can be used for any occasions, like business meetings and conferences, wedding parties, birthday parties, cocktail events, etc.

Do you need a smaller room? Don't worry. There is a boardroom that can accommodate up to 14 participants.

It is a good experience to stay in SenS Ubud Hotel. It is a good choice for those who visit the traditional Ubud but want to stay in a modern style hotel that will give them still-the-urban-sensation.

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About Me

Astrid Amalia is a Certified Yoga Teacher and CranioSacral Therapist from the Kabira Yoga school. She teaches the principle of Energetic Yoga, and she shares healing work. She is a practitioner of CranioSacral Therapy, one of the most avant garde and fascinating healing modalities.

Astrid offers private Yoga practice and CranioSacral therapy sessions that are designed specifically for the individual client. Private sessions can be held in the client’s home, apartment, office, hotel, and designated studio space.